


Don't Look Back

by romantic_nootella



Category: Buzzfeed Unsolved (Web Series)
Genre: Inspired by Orpheus and Eurydice (Ancient Greek Religion & Lore), M/M, The death is necessary for the plot
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-05-18
Updated: 2020-05-18
Packaged: 2021-03-02 17:47:30
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Major Character Death
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,187
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/24260821
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/romantic_nootella/pseuds/romantic_nootella
Summary: Modern day orpheus and eurydice au of our two boys, I hope you guys like it!
Relationships: Ryan Bergara & Shane Madej, Ryan Bergara/Shane Madej, Shane Madej & Sara Rubin
Comments: 3
Kudos: 21





	Don't Look Back

Shane reached out his hand, the early morning sunlight reflecting across the beads of sweat on his brow. A rougher and much more square hand grabbed his with gratitude, and his boyfriend Ryan pulled himself up onto the ledge. 

"Tell me why," Ryan panted. "I let you convince me to go on a relaxing hike with you." 

Shane laughed, fondness growing in his eyes. It wasn't often that Ryan left the house anymore, their hands were full with both Unsolved and Watcher, and the guy needed a break. "C'mon buddy, you need a break! Being cooped up in the house that long isn't great for your health."

Ryan nodded in defeat. "But could we take a break in a way that wouldn't cause me physical pain?" He groaned as soon as Shane answered by walking further up the steep hill. 

Shane plodded up the hill, the small box in his pocket growing heavier by the second. It wasn't as if he was worried that Ryan would say no, they had talked about marriage beforehand, but he was still nervous about being so vulnerable. He usually had his shields up, and proposing would require his full and open honesty, and being that vulnerable scared the shit out of him. 

"You better have a really good reward for me once we're done with this hike," Ryan called out from behind him. Shane laughed at that, and he hoped that his proposal would be a good enough reward. 

It was probably around seven in the morning, but Shane knew that in order to beat the oppressive Los Angeles heat they'd have to up early. The couple reached the peak, and Ryan instantly scrambled to the bench overlooking the city.

"Ryan, you like, pump iron every day at the gym. I can't believe you're getting winded from a _hike_ ," Shane said, plopping down next to him. Ryan put his head on his shoulder, regulating his breathing, and punched Shane in the thigh lightly.

"Dude, lifting weights is no where near the same as climbing up a fucking mountain." 

"It's just because you're the height of Dobby, isn't it?"

"If you don't shut up, I'll-"

"You'll what?"

"I'll destroy you in Mario Kart."

Shane tipped his head back and laughed, basking in the sunlight. He reached his arm around Ryan, gently patting his shoulder. "Sure you will, buddy." A soft quietness filled the air, and Shane knew that this was his chance.

He drew in a shaky breath, and looked at the hand currently on his lap. "Ryan, I want to say something. Out of the years I've known you, and the moments I've shared with you, and the ghouls I've fought with you, I know that I want the rest of my years and moments to be like that. And while I know that this is a social construct with no real bearing on our relationship, I really want to ask-"

"Dude, yes."

"Will you mar- wait, did you just call me _dude_ after I tried to propose to you?" 

"Uh, yeah?" Ryan said, his eyebrows knitting in amusement.

"Don't try and bro-zone me while I'm proposing. I've got a ring and everything."

"Oh yeah? Show me the ring then," Ryan said cheekily, his grin wide and his happiness written all over his face. Shane rolled his eyes and took out the box, snapping it open with one hand. The ring was simple but nice, a citrine gem laid into a silver band. His birthstone. 

Ryan looked at the ring like he couldn't quite believe his eyes, and then he simply said, "Yeah, I'll marry you. I'll marry the hell out of you."

Shane looked up at him. "Oh, great!"

"Now, aren't you like, supposed to put the ring on me or something?" Ryan asked, smirking in a very annoying (and attractive, but Shane'll disregard that right now) way. Shane huffed and extracted his arm from around his fiancé, taking the ring with his right hand and gently sliding it onto Ryan's finger. 

Ryan leant into his chest. "You know, I also have a ring for you. It's at home."

"You WHAT?" 

"Yeah, you heard me. Told you, I'm gonna marry the hell out of you."

"That sounds like a threat."

"Oh trust me dude, it totally is."

-

Shane kicked Ryan lightly on the shin. They had been planning their wedding for a few months, and knowing them it was going to be extremely chill but also very extensive. Shane had to promise not to request any of the hotdoga songs to be played at the wedding, with Ryan threatening divorce over it. 

Such a shame, Maize would be so proud of him. 

"Why're you kicking me?" Ryan grumbled, his noses nearly slipping off of his face. 

"Go to bed, you've been falling asleep for the past ten minutes. I can send this email, don't worry," Shane murmured, and Ryan looked like he wanted to fight the statement, but drowsily nodded instead and walked to the bedroom. Shane watched him leave and smiled, noticing how Ryan was wearing his sweater.

Shane continued scrolling through different venues, most of them being way too expensive or way too small for what they were planning. He was getting really frustrated with this whole situation, and in his opinion, wedding planners were definitely more bloodsucking than lawyers. He slammed his laptop shut, and was getting ready to leave for bed before his phone rang.

It was like one in the morning, who was calling him? Shane flipped over his phone to see it was TJ, and with his heart rate suddenly spiking he picked up the phone.

"Hey, Teej? You alright?"

"Yeah, hey, sorry if I worried you. I just had this sudden idea."

"Alright, lay it on me," Shane said, leaning against the cool kitchen counter. He heard TJ's excited laugh.

"So, I know you and Ryan have been having a hell of a time finding a venue, and I think I found somewhere you could use."

Shane's eyes widened. "Dude, TJ, don't play with me. What is it?"

"So you know my grandpa, the guy who inherited a bunch of land up in Napa County? He's real fond of Unsolved and said that you two could use his land for your wedding."

"Holy shit! That's incredible! How much do we pay?"

"You guys just have to pay for catering, decorations, and the other stuff, and he wants to do a postmortem on the show."

Shane laughed, and suddenly everything felt possible again. "All right, tell your grandpa that he's a ghoul boy now!"

-

Ryan and Shane were seated in a slightly cluttered office, a woman on the other side of the desk who was furiously typing on her laptop. Shane noticed that she had the same glasses that his mom did, and that her long greying hair was pulled back into a braid. 

"All right you two, despite you both sending me on a goose hunt I've managed to come up with some actual stuff," she said, looking at them with slight judgement. 

"More like a ghoul hunt," Shane said, chuckling lightly. Mrs. Phillips rolled her eyes, and showed them her screen. She had actually done it. She'd found ghost decorations for weddings. 

"Mrs. Phillips, you are a treasure," Ryan said, looking at the spooky decorations in awe. Her eyes softened and she smiled.

"I know, dearie. But seriously, this can only account for ten percent of the decorations. I'd like for you two to plan some actual decorations as well."

-

It was finally the day of the wedding, and Shane had never been so excited. He thought his heart was about to burst, and as his brother helped him fix his tie, he let out a shaky breath. 

"Nervous?" Scott said, giving his brother a reassuring pat on the shoulder. "Just remember, it's rattlesnake season so be wary."

Shane nodded, and took a few more deep breaths. This was it. Everything was set up, and they were completely prepared to be married. It was crazy that all of the months of planning lead up to this day. 

There was another reason he was nervous, but he ignored it. That stuff wasn't real. Sara had made him and Ryan go to a psychic to see how their marriage would go, and the psychic had looked at them sadly. Then again, psychics were bullshit. 

Shane walked to the door, and into the venue. There was family and friends from both sides there, and everyone looked actually stoked to be there. They had given Buzzfeed permission to tape the wedding and publish it, in exchange for Buzzfeed giving them some of the profits. It was, after all, their wedding. Even the Professor was there in his little blue glory, tucked under Steven Lim's arm. 

Shane and Ryan had agreed beforehand that they wanted to walk down the aisle together, and no one in their family cared enough to disagree about it. People slowly started to trickle into the actual wedding space, and Shane dipped into the alcove that he and Ryan had designated as theirs. 

He wasn't alone for long, Ryan appearing next to his side and pulling him into a tight embrace. "I love you," he said, hiding his face in Shane's neck. 

"Woah, buddy, I love you too. What's going on?" Shane said, gently stroking Ryan's hair. Ryan shook his head. 

"Just feel like something's gonna go wrong, is all," he whispered, and squeezed Shane tighter. Shane's heart clenched. So it turned out he wasn't the only person feeling like something was gonna go wrong. 

"Shhhh, it's gonna be okay. C'mon, they're waiting for us." Ryan nodded, and they held hands as they stood before the entrance. 

They walked down the aisle together, with friends clapping and cheering quietly. Shane saw his mom with the funniest little hat on, and she smiled and winked at him and Ryan. They soon reached the top, and Jen was waiting there for them, as they had somehow convinced her to officiate. 

"I'd like to welcome everyone to the wedding of Shane Madej and Ryan Bergara..." Jen started, continuing her rehearsed speech as Shane looked at Ryan. Ryan had the softest eyes he'd ever seen. 

"All right, it's time to speak your vows, boys!" Jen said excitedly, and she turned to look at Shane. Shane took out his cue cards, but he didn't think he'd need them. He'd been wanting to say these words for the past five years of his life. 

He cleared his throat, and looked Ryan in the eyes. "Ryan, ever since I met you five years ago I felt an instant connection. And when you asked me onto your dumb show about ghosts, I really couldn't refuse you and I'm glad I didn't. You've been there for me through it all, and you've supported me behind the scenes even if you were pretending to hate it, aka the hotdoga. You're my best friend, my life partner, and I couldn't ask for anything more. I know it's cheesy, but I really am the luckiest guy in the planet to even have a chance of being with you."

Shane continued to ramble, and he noticed all of the eyes were on him now. Oh god, that was stressful. 

"So I guess that if there's a takeaway to this, thank you for loving me. And I'll love you, every day and in every single way I can," Shane finished, but as he looked up his heart dropped. 

Ryan's face was paling and was contorted in pain. Shane could barely register the scream coming from the side of him as he rushed to his fiancé, catching him in his arms. Ryan was breaking out into a cold sweat and Shane was panicking, not knowing what was wrong or what to do. 

"Rattlesnake bite," Jen said, her voice mortified. Someone was calling 911, but the nearest hospital was an hour from here, and Shane didn't think that there was any cure in this house. 

"Ryan, Ryan you have to hold on for me, Ryan listen to my voice, Ryan please, please please please don't go," Shane pleaded, tears slowly dripping from his face onto Ryan's. Ryan's breathing was slowing, and Shane had to bite his lip to stop himself from screaming. This couldn't be happening. 

-

Shane was in the hospital, bags forming underneath his eyes from a lack of sleep. His hair was messed up, and he felt like he was going to vomit.

A doctor came back into the private room he was given, and sat next to Shane. His eyes were soft and empathetic, and he didn't look like he was bearing good news in the slightest. 

"You guys arrived at the hospital three hours after the bite, which gave the venom plenty of time to target the body. I'm so sorry, Mr. Madej. Ryan's gone," the doctor said, looking down at his hands. 

Shane felt the only bit of hope he had leave his body, and he finally broke down into shuddering sobs. 

Within a day, the person he loved was ripped away from him. 

**Author's Note:**

> I'm not sure how long this fic is gonna be, but I'll have a roadmap soon and will be updating chapters!


End file.
